Fried: cracked into a hot, oiled skillet and cooked through; try cracking an egg into a metal cookie cutter set in the pan for fun shaped eggs.
Sunny-side-up: a fried egg that has been cooked without flipping.
Over-easy: a fried egg flipped and cooked briefly on the other side; not long enough to cook the yolk through.
Poached: cooked in gently simmering water for 3 to 4 minutes, until set but wobbly in the middle; try stirring the water into a whirlpool with a spoon before sliding the egg in to keep it from spreading out. Some add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water to keep the whites from getting ragged.
Scrambled: whisked eggs cooked in a hot skillet with butter or oil; add 1 tbsp (15 mL) milk or water per egg and don’t overcook; they should still be soft, almost runny, when you take them off the stove, and will finish cooking with their own residual heat without ending up dry.
Soft-boiled: simmered whole, in their shells, until the whites are cooked and the yolks soft or runny. Cover with cold water, bring to a simmer and cook for exactly 4 minutes from the time the water simmers; less if you like your eggs runnier, more if you like them firmer.
Hard-boiled: boiled in their shells until cooked all the way through; about 7 to 8 minutes. Remember that the fresher the egg, the more difficult it will be to peel.
Baked/Shirred: cracked into a buttered ramekin and baked in the oven until set with a runny yolk; often topped with a spoonful of cream and grated cheese before baking.
Published May 2010
